Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-07-09

OF Inat state on u some " hat different footing
from that OF other states. and at least one
prominent statesman advocates national as
sistance to that state, IL is well worth h,ie
To look into the facts. The following figures
are taken from the state auditors books at
Richmond:
Jan !, 1861, Virginia then including the
present West Virginia. owed So, Is, l+l;
nine years afterwari her debt, floating and
bonded was $i5 Ga, ,Sis And none of this,
strictly speaking, was incurred for war pur
posss; much of il was merely accumulated
interest and the rest for expenses incurred
after the surrender OF Lee and befor. the re
turn Of prosperity and full revenues. The
original debt was validly contracted in con
structing valuable improvements, but as there
had been some extravaganza between 1865
and 1870, and as West Virginia had with
drawn with her share of the improvements
a question arose TO how much the old state
honestly owed Virginia, therefore, agreed
10 assume two thirds of the debt aS 1t stood
in 1870. and the funding act of March -,
1871 into thirty four year bonds bearing Il
per cent. interest, coupons receivable for all
debts and demands due the state" The
bondhold-rs FASTENED TO refund on this basis.
and nearly two-thirls Of the amount assumed
had been funded when, on March :, 1872, the
legislature reported the clause making the
coupons legal tender 10 the state for taxes
The claim was made that Ia ym.nt in coupons
would 50 far reduce the states cash receipts
as to close the public schools and OH this
ground the colorei voters unanimously many
whites with them, supported the policy OF
coupon repeal The bondholders could neither
sell nor collect OH their COUPONS for some
Years; so on March Is 1872 the legislature
passed the tell forty act" to the effec, that
the mstured coupons might lie refunded at
half their face, and the other bonds consoli-
datsd-those taken under the act of March
30. 1871 at reduced rates-into new bonds
bearing per cent. for ten years, 4 per cent
for the next twenty years and 5 per cent for
ten Year,, the coupons to DE again receivable
for taxes. This is the noted "Riddelberger
act" drawn 10y the senator of that name.
The bondhollers generally refused this offer.
and when some $s,0Oc,Oo0 had besn re-
funded under il, the Legislature in Feb
rusry, 1852 and November 1884. arain
changed the terms, scaled down" a
small part OF the debt and again pro-
vided for funding the remainder, adding a
stringent CLAUSE that those who did not refund
under this act before a certain date should bs
without a remedy. The bondholiers then
made test case on the coupons in the
Federal courts, and the supreme court Of the
United States decided, five justices TO four,
that officials must receive the coupons for all
taxes and demands due the state. The four
dissenting judges held that the Federal court
had no jurisdiction, the Eleventh amend
ment T. The constil ution forbade it to act in
such cs-e: - the decision is liable to lie over
ruled al any time after successor is ap-
pointed 10 ihe late Justice Woods. And in
this curious uncertain ard unsatisfactory
condition the matter stood when Sir Edward
Thornton arrived In the meantime coupons
have mstured TO the amount Of g., 500 OOO
earsy-erouxh 10 keep all cash out of the
treasury for two years or more-but Virgin
iAns As Yet have not availed themselves very
largely Of this cheap way Of paying taxes
The total Of Nirginia's property assess